We Don't Worship Human Beings: Part 2

Introduction:

Although the main name of our
people is Yisrael, we
also have other names which
refer to the spiritual qualities
which we are to represent to the
world. For example, we are
called Yehudim - a name
which is derived from Yehudah,
one of the twelve tribes of our
people. The Torah records that
when our mother, Leah, had her
fourth son, she expressed her
appreciation to Hashem – the
Compassionate One - by naming
him Yehudah (Genesis 29:35).
According to the Sforno, a
classical biblical commentator,
she chose this name because it
contains the letters of the most
sacred Divine Name that we refer
to as Hashem, and because it
also contains the Hebrew term
for “gratitude.”

An individual member of our
people is called a “Yehudi”
(Judean); in fact, some language
scholars say that the English
term “Jew” is derived from a
Latin term for “Judean.” An
example of how the term “Yehudi”
can refer to a member of our
people can be found in the
following verse from Megilas
Esther – the Scroll of
Esther: “There was a man who was
a Yehudi in Shushan, the capital
(of the Persian empire)), whose
name was Mordechai son of Jair
son of Shimi son of Kish, a
Benjamite, who had been exiled
from Jerusalem, along with the
exiles who had been exiled with
Jeconiah, King of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Bablyon,
had exiled” (Esther 2:5).
Although Mordechai was from the
Tribe of Benjamin, he was still
called a “Yehudi” since he was
among those who were exiled from
the kingdom of Judah (Rashi).
The Talmud, in the name of Rabbi
Yochanan, cites an additional
reason why he was called “Yehudi”:

He rejected idolatry, and
whoever rejects idolatry is
called a Yehudi (Megillah 13a).

The Talmud also cites a verse
where Bitya, the daughter of
Pharaoh, is called a “Yehudiyah”
–a Judean woman (1 Chronicles
3:18). This heroine who saved
Moshe when he was a baby is
called a Yehudiyah, explains the
Talmud, becauseshe
rejected idolatry. The
Talmud adds that this spiritual
transformation took place when
she immersed herself in the Nile
in order to “convert” to the
faith of our people (Rashi). She
later joined our people when we
left Egypt. The term “Yehudi” or
“Yehudiyah” can therefore refer
to someone who rejects all forms
of idolatry and acknowledges the
Compassionate One, the Unifying
Source of all existence. These
two terms are from the name
“Yehudah” which contains the
letters of the most sacred
Divine Name; thus, they are
ancient terms for a believer in
Hashem. (“Emes L’Yaakov” by
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, cited
in the Art Scroll commentary on
Rashi, Genesis 36:2)

Dear Friends,

The plural form of “Yehudi” is “Yehudim.”
Megilas Esther tells the
story of how the Yehudim were
saved from Haman’s genocidal
plan, and the following verses
reveal one of the reasons for
Haman’s hatred of the Yehudim:

“After these things King
Achashverosh promoted Haman...he
set his seat above all the
officers who were with him. All
the King's servants at the
King's gate would bow down and
prostrate themselves before
Haman, for this is what the King
had commanded concerning him.
But Mordechai would not bow down
or prostrate himself.” (Esther
3:1,2)

“But Mordechai would not bow
down or prostrate himself” -
For Haman had made himself into
a god (Commentary of Rashi).

It was common within the pagan
world for very powerful or very
wealthy individuals to view
themselves as gods. Haman had
this arrogance, and Mordechai
had the courage and the chutzpah
to defy Haman.

Megilas Esther reveals
that Haman was enraged at
Mordechai's refusal to bow
before him; moreover, Haman
realized that Mordechai's
refusal was based on the
spiritual beliefs of the Yehudim
– a people who believed in the
One Creator and who therefore
refused to deify any fragment of
the creation, including a human
being. Haman therefore decided
to punish all the Yehudim, as it
is written: “So Haman sought to
destroy all the Yehudim who were
throughout the entire kingdom of
Achashverosh – the people of
Mordechai” (3:6).

“But Mordechai would not bow
down.” If we read these words in
the original Hebrew –
Mordechai lo yichra – we
notice that the phrase “not bow
down” is actually written in the
future tense; thus, a literal
translation would be, “And
Mordechai will not bow down.”
Why was the phrase written in
the future tense? My friend,
Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Freifeld,
shared with me the following
answer of the noted Chassidic
sage, the Sefas Emes: The verse
is alluding to the idea that
there will always be a
courageous “Mordechai” among our
people in each generation “who
will not bow down” – who will
refuse to give up his faith in
Hashem, despite the various
attempts to force us to abandon
Hashem and His Torah. (From the
Sefas Emes’s talk on Purim in
5,643)

In fact, the Yehudim took on the
courageous role of Mordechai in
later generations, especially
during the rise of Christianity.
Although Christianity was
influenced to some degree by
Judaism and accepted the belief
in the Creator of all life,
Christianity also deified a
human being. The Christians
thought that they could win over
the Yehudim to their religion,
for they had deified a Yehudi.
This appeal to the ethnic pride
of the Yehudim did not work, for
the Yehudim were the people of
Mordechai, the Yehudi who
remained loyal to Hashem; thus,
they refused to deify a human
being, even if he was one of
their own. This caused the
Christian Church to persecute
and murder the Yehudim. When the
Yehudim were offered the choice,
“the cross or death,” many
Yehudim went to their death
proclaiming the Divine Oneness
and Unity: Hear O Israel,
Hashem is our God, Hashem is
One!

There is a custom to chant Psalm
22 on Purim – a psalm which
describes the lonely journey of
the Yehudim in a hostile world.
According to tradition, King
David dedicated this psalm to
Queen Esther, as through the
holy spirit, he foresaw the
courageous role of Esther who
risked her life to save her
people. In fact, we have a
tradition that Esther herself
chanted this psalm before she
went to meet with the King. The
psalm opens with the words, “My
God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” – words which were
said throughout the generations
by Yehudim who were persecuted
and murdered for their belief in
Hashem and for their loyalty to
the Torah of Hashem. Towards the
end of this psalm, however, we
find a prophecy of hope which
proclaims that all humankind
will one day accept the unifying
belief of the Yehudim:

“All the ends of the earth will
remember and return to Hashem,
all the families of nations will
bow before You.” (Psalm 22:28)

In this new age of
enlightenment, we, the Yehudim,
will be vindicated. The nations
who despised us for our chutzpah
and for our refusal to adopt
their beliefs will become our
allies. As the Prophet
proclaimed in the Name of Hashem,
God of the hosts of creation:

“In those days it will happen
that ten men of all the
(different) languages of the
nations, will take hold, they
will take hold of the garment of
a Yehudi man, saying, ‘Let us
go with you, for we have heard
that God is with you.’ ”
(Zechariah 8:23)

The ultimate vindication of our
people and our holy chutzpah is
alluded to in the concluding
section of the Purim story:

“Mordechai left the king’s
presence clad in royal apparel
of turquoise and white with a
large gold crown and a robe of
fine linen and purple; then the
city of Shushan was cheerful and
joyous. The Yehudim had light
and joy, bliss and honor.”
(Esther 8: 15, 16)

Shalom, and may we be blessed
with the life-giving light, joy,
bliss, and honor of Purim.

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen

Related Teachings and Comments:

1. “The City of Shushan was
cheerful and joyous” (Esther
8:15). Shushan was the capital
of the Persian empire, and
according to the Malbim, a noted
19th century biblical
commentator, the reference to
the joy of Shushan alludes to
the happiness of the peoples in
the Persian empire when
Mordechai the “tzadik” –
righteous and just person - was
elevated to a position of power.
The Malbim writes: “All the
peoples rejoiced at the
elevation of Mordechai, the
tzadik.” And the Malbim cites
the following verse: “When the
righteous are ascendant, the
people will be glad; but in the
rule of the wicked, the people
will groan” (Proverbs 29:2).
When there is an evil and
corrupt official, the people
suffer, but when there is a
righteous and just official like
Mordechai, the people rejoice.

2. On the holiday of Purim, we
celebrate our deliverance from
the genocidal plan of Haman.
Purim is celebrated on the 14th
day of the month of Adar, and it
begins this year on Saturday
night, March 17th. In Jerusalem,
the celebration of Purim takes
place on the 15th day of the
month of Adar, and it begins on
Sunday night. The Purim that is
celebrated in Jerusalem is known
as “Shushan Purim.”

3. Information on the connection
between Psalm 22 and Esther can
be found in the Talmud: Yuma 29a
and Megillah 15b. In addition,
one can find information in the
midrashic commentaries on this
psalm.

4. Within the archive of our
series which is found on our
website, there is a related
letter titled “Our Holy
Chutzpah” – a letter which is
very appropriate for the spirit
of Purim! The following is a
direct link:
http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon/tzedaka/chutzpah.htm